The origin of anatomically modern Homo sapiens and the fate of
Neanderthals have been fundamental questions in human evolutionary studies for
over a century1-4. A key barrier to the resolution
of these questions has been the lack of substantial and accurately dated African
hominid fossils from between 100,000 and 300,000 years ago5. Here we describe fossilized hominid crania from Herto,
Middle Awash, Ethiopia, that fill this gap and provide crucial evidence on the
location, timing and contextual circumstances of the emergence of Homo
sapiens. Radioisotopically dated to between 160,000 and 154,000 years
ago6, these new fossils predate classic
Neanderthals and lack their derived features. The Herto hominids are
morphologically and chronologically intermediate between archaic African fossils
and later anatomically modern Late Pleistocene humans. They therefore represent
the probable immediate ancestors of anatomically modern humans. Their anatomy
and antiquity constitute strong evidence of modern-human emergence in
Africa.